title: Cancer risk after ABO-incompatible living-donor kidney transplantation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recipients of ABO-incompatible (ABOi) living-donor kidney transplants often undergo more intense immunosuppression than their ABO-compatible counterparts. It is unknown if this difference leads to higher cancer risk after transplantation. Single-center studies are too small and lack adequate duration of follow-up to answer this question.
  
  
  METHODS
  We identified 318 ABOi recipients in the Transplant Cancer Match Study, a national linkage between the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients and population-based U.S. cancer registries. Seven cancers (non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Merkel cell carcinoma, gastric adenocarcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, thyroid cancer, pancreatic cancer, and testicular cancer) were identified among ABOi recipients. We then matched ABOi recipients to ABO-compatible controls by age, gender, race, human leukocyte antigen mismatch, retransplantation, and transplant year.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no demonstrable association between ABOi and cancer in unadjusted (incidence rate ratio, 0.83; 95% confidence interval, 0.33-1.71; P=0.3) or matched control (incidence rate ratio, 0.99; 95% confidence interval, 0.38-2.23; P=0.5) analyses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To the extent that could be determined in this registry study, current desensitization protocols are not associated with increased risk of cancer after transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: Erin C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: Eric A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Engels
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Montgomery
authors.forename: Dorry L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Segev
mesh_terms: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System / Q000276:immunology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018951:Antigens, CD20 / Q000276:immunology; D001787:Blood Group Incompatibility / Q000150:complications*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019520:Living Donors; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D012306:Risk
chemical_list: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D018951:Antigens, CD20